The 2022 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points leader, Brandon Palaniuk, is officially on the board with his first smallmouth of the day coming in a little over 3-pounds. This fish didn’t really excite Palaniuk much, since he has his heart set on bringing to the scales only big bronze backs more in the 5-pound range. But as we wind down on the AOY race over the next 3 events, every fish counts. Especially with John Cox sitting only 18 points back to start this event.
Cox is an anomaly this day and age. He’s a shallow water guy living in an offshore world. And the expectation this week is for Palaniuk to pull away, since smallmouth fishing on the St Lawrence and Lake Ontario is traditionally more of a spinning pole out off the bank kind of deal this time of year.
But reports from on the water this week indicate there’s a pretty solid smallmouth bite up shallow as well. And we need not forget that Brock Mosley finished third in this event last year targeting largemouth, a rare feat indeed. So Cox has options. And he’s the last guy that you’d want make the mistake of counting out. He’s proven time and time again in some of the most ridiculous ways that he can always catch fish, and catch them shallow at will when no other angler can.
The AOY race will certainly be a storyline to watch this week, and an interesting one at that.
